The rapid progress of the Asia-Pacific region and its continued development into the worldwide supply chain means that the need for competitive technologies and products is as important as it has ever been. JEC estimates the current Asian composite market to be around €18 billion, having grown at around 8% per annum for the last seven years. As JEC President and CEO Frédérique Mutel explains: “The market is mainly driven by economic growth. In 2000, Asia represented 25% of the global composites consumption. Now it represents 42% and could reach 50% by 2013.”
Having demonstrated its capabilities last year, the 2009 show will see the addition of a third hall amounting to a total of 7,500m
2
. The increased size of the event enables JEC accommodate a greater number of new pavilions from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, which will also be looking to grow their presence alongside the central Asian market.
This time around the emphasis is on production technology, where automation of manufacturing processes has been chosen as the central theme with best quality at the lowest cost being the bottom line. Topics that the show hopes to address include: how to produce more and optimise prices, quality, safety and environmental impact, where to buy new materials and who from, how to adopt new technologies and how to find the best partners. Mutel explains: “At the moment, manual processes remain relatively important in Asia with 31% compared to 17% in Europe but automated processes should keep developing. A good part of our conferences are focused on these topics and we will host a full range of exhibitors presenting solutions such as injection, compression, continuous processes, robotics, software for conception and fabrication.” These include the latest technologies such as L-RTM (light resin transfer moulding), BMC/SMC (bulk moulding compounds/sheet moulding compounds), filament winding and tape placement.
Another element of the show that promises to be particularly interesting is that of biocomposites, such as materials formed from vegetal reinforcements or natural matrices such as stone, cellulose or bamboo. JEC promises that new textile techniques to produce fabrics will be revealed as well as advances in nanomaterials with smarter and smaller products.
Feedback from last year's inaugural event, according to Mutel highlighted a high level of satisfaction with the quality of participants. “They also appreciated the quality of materials and equipment exhibited by the most advanced companies,” she adds. “They were looking for new processes and technologies and our exhibitors were able to meet their requirements. For 2009 we continue in the same direction: technology and business. Our target is to create cutting edge content, first for technology, then for sales for our customers. Our aim is to establish JEC Asia as the platform of excellence for technological knowledge and business exchanges for the whole region. The number of conferences and forums has almost doubled and for business, we are launching a new service called ‘Business Meetings'. In this, we match the needs of suppliers and buyers. We are preparing targeted meetings between exhibitors and decision makers from main markets such as aerospace, automotive, mass transportation and construction. This new program should really improve connections, partnerships and sales.”
Of particular interest to those in the aerospace sector, visitors will also be able to take part in the technical conference and sector specific end user forums. The Aeronautics forum will take place on the morning of the 15
th
and cover such subjects as science-based simulation, improved technologies including prepregs and out of autoclave processes, component joining processes (i.e. ‘jointless composites') and new solutions for carbon fibre recycling. Maintenance of materials will also be a prevailing subject since Singapore is currently the leading MRO aerospace hub for Asia.
Speaking of the aerospace sector's importance to the overall composite market, Mutel believes that: “the sector is driving technology towards computational methodologies for modelling and simulating the product life of composites. The aerospace sector also leads in developing technologies to produce lighter structural parts. During JEC Asia, we will see cases of technological transfer from aeronautics to the windmill blade industry. The fields of thermic, electrical and acoustic insulation using composite materials are an additional example.”
Although the format of the show is similar to its bigger Parisian brother, JEC Asia will also be an important source of information for those taking an interest in the continent's markets and how they differ. In Europe the market penetration is currently over twice that of Asia and composites play a part in nearly all sectors. Asia is also characterised by a much greater variation in the maturity of composite markets across the continent. “Another important market for Asia is rehabilitation,” adds Mutel. “Composite solutions help to reinforce infrastructures, civil engineering and also monuments. In Europe, regulations on environment and recycling are strict. Asia is on another cycle as much more of it is under construction and the needs are huge. The emerging middle class in China and India is asking for infrastructures for better living and consumer products and the money and ambition is there. In these ambitious projects, composite materials can bring their unique performance characteristics.”
Finally, as is the custom, the JEC Innovation Award winners have been announced ahead of the event with nine companies taking this year's honours. In the aerospace category the spoils go the National Research Council of Canada and partner company Profile Composites for its CART (Composite Applications for Radio Telescopes) project, looking at developing a high performance and cost-effective collecting area for the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) telescope. Its research focuses specifically on technology development, which will require several thousand 12-m class reflectors to be fabricated over a period of several years. The design consists of a one-piece surface and rim, eight radial beams and a central hub. The hub and beams were fabricated in parallel and then bonded onto the surface/rim while still on the mould, capturing the surface shape. The separately moulded beams are then made with a thin core in their webs and caps to stabilise their surfaces from local buckling, and give improved performance. The result is an improvement in surface accuracy from 1.2 to 0.5mm RMS and a significant reduction in production time.
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